Find climate champions

Whether you are the mayor, a business owner, or a concerned citizen we can all be leaders when it comes to climate change.

Even if your community cannot afford to hire a staff person, finding the climate champions in your community is a key factor to the success of your climate change projects.

Involve people from all sectors in your community:

government

education

business

recreation

the arts

healthcare

tourism

law enforcement

media.

Each will bring new skills and expertise to our projects and will enhance the image of your climate change project (1).

Some tips for attracting people to your project include tyhe following: (2)

identify key local issue(s) of concern to the people you are trying to attract

communicate these concerns and promoting the need for their participation

involve people who are committed to bringing about climate change

organize action projects where people can participate and see the results of their efforts

ensure that people involved feel that their concerns and ideas are being addressed

Meet Captain Planet!

Using a sense of humour to let people know that climate change is not all doom and gloom can be an important part of demonstrating all of the benefits a community can experience when they are climate friendly.

The Morden/Winkler Fire Department made David Thurgar, the community’s local Climate Change Community Challenge/One-Tonne Challenge Coordinator a hero! They made him a superhero suit and David revealed his identity as Captain Planet at the community parade.

Ensure that a wide range of people participate in your community climate change projects.

Celebrate success

One step that is often overlooked when creating a climate-friendly community is communicating the success of your projects!

There are many reasons to celebrate success and there are many ways to do it, from formal awards programs to creating local recognition. Celebrating success recognizes the selfless effort of volunteers, raises the profile of the issues, and lends credibility to projects.

The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) lists the top three tips for communicating about sustainability (4):